Shoe-shaping machine.



O. ASHTON.

SHOE SHAPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED mm. 1914.

Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

UNITED STATES PATENT cornice.

ORRELL ASHTON, 0F SWAMPSGOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEVJ-ERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of LettersPatent.

SHOE-SHAPING. MACHINE.

Patented Mar. 14:, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ORRELL AsHToN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Swampscott, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Shoe-Shaping Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes and more particularly to machines for use in shaping and ironing the uppers of turn shoes to bring the upper into conformity with the shape of the last; A machine having such ironing mechanism is disclosed in my prior United States Letters Patent No. 1,048,637, granted Dec. 31, 1912.

An object of the present invention is to improve the ironing mechanism of such machines and to provide an arrangement particularly adapted for controlling in a convenient and effective manner the degree of heat of the ironing tool.

Features of the invention are to be recognized in the form and arrangement of the ironing tool with reference to the heating means and in provision for convenient detachment of the tool and for relative adjustment of said means and the tool to vary the amount of heat transmitted to the tool from the heating means.

The preferred embodiment of the invention includes provision for varying the distance between portions of the tool and the source of heat and for varying also the extent of contact between the tool and a heating member from which heat is transmitted to the tool.

The preferred construction comprises a friction heater, similar to that of my prior patent above referred to, and a substantially semi-cylindrical ironing tool separate from the shell which incloses the heat generating elements and adjustable to vary the effec-' tiveness of the heating means, preferably by varying the extent of surface contact between the shell and the tool and also preferably by providing more or less air space between the shell and the tool. With this arrangement the degree ofheat of the tool may bereadily controlled, whatever may be shown in Fig. l.

The mechanism in which the present invention is embodied may form a portion of a machine for performing various opera tions upon av shoe, such as shown and described in my co-pending application for Patent, Ser. No; 597,190, filed December 14:, 1910, or the mechanism may constitute an independent machine for performing only the ironing operation.

The machine is formed. with a casing 2 which is provided with bearings for a shaft 0 l driven by a belt 6 from a suitable source of power. The casing supportsa cylindrical shell 8 which constitutes the heating member forthe ironing tool, the connections be- I tween the casing and the shell including layers 10 of asbestos or like material of relatively poor heat conducting properties so that the heat of the. cylinder 8 may be maintained without substantial loss through the casing. Mounted upon the shaft within the shell 8 is a cylindrical member 12 which carries blocks 14 preferably formed of asbestos and engaging the inner surface of the shell, the friction between these blocks and the cylinder .8 upon rotation of the shaft serving to heat the cylinder in substantially the. same manner as in the mechanism shown and described in my prior Patent No. 1,048,637 above mentioned.

In the use of this invention the shoe to be treated is not to be placed in engagement with the frictionally heatedcylinder 8, but this cylinder, in cooperation with the friction device, comprises simply heating means for a separate ironing tool- 16 which .preferably is formedas a semiecylindrical memher with its concave surface conformed to the outer surface of the cylinder 8. This member is supportednear its rear edge upon the pointed ends of. threaded pins or screws 18 which beturned to adjust ,the position of their supporting ends with reference to the cylinder 8 in assembling the parts, and are held in adjusted position by lock nuts 20. Only one of these pins is visible in the drawings, but it will be understood that a sufficient number are used to provide a suitable support for the rear portion of the tool. At its front edge the tool has attached thereto a lug 22 which is slotted at its upper end to receive-a reduced portion. of the head of a screw 24 which is threaded transversely through a pin 26 secured to the casing2. It is preferable that the lug 2:2 should fit closely in the slotted or reduced portion of the screw, and the lug is therefore formed of slightly resilient material in order to conform to different positions of the screw. With this arrangement the ironing tool may be readily detached and if desired a tool of different form may be substituted.

In the use of the mechanism above described the ironing tool 16 may, by adjustment of the screw 24:, be positioned in close engagement with the heated cylinder 8 as represented by full lines in the drawings. In this position the tool will be heated substantially to the same degree as the cylinder 8. If the material being treated requires the use of a lower degree of heat, the screw 24 may be adjusted to swing the tool slightly about its line of support upon the pins 18, thereby depressing slightly the front edge of the tool. This serves to break the contact between portions of the tool and the heated cylinder, but the contact will still be maintained at the rear edge adjacentto the line of support and in the case of the semi-cylindrical form of tool illustrated substantial or proximate contact will continue also at the front edge. Between. other portions of the tool and the cylinder, however, such adjustment will provide an air space, and further adjustment of the tool in the same direction will increase this air space and at the same time lessen the extent of contact or break the contact between the cylinder and the front edge portion of the tool. By such adjustment the amount of heat conducted from the cylinder to the tool may be readily varied and the amount of heat transmitted by radiation also will vary in accordance with the distance of portions of the tool from the source of heat. The degree of heat of the ironing tool consequently may be controlled as desired to conform to varying conditions in the use of the machine.

It should be understood. that in its broader aspects the invention is not limited to the illustrated semi-cylindrical shape of the ironing tool nor to the cylindrical shape of the heating element 8. althou h these are belie ed to be the most convenient and advantageous forms in which the invention can be embodied. It is. m reover. not essen tial to the invention in its broader aspects that the heat be supplied by means of frictional mechanism, although such mechanism has been found especially advantageous for the use intended. It will be understood also.

that in other respects the invention is not limited to the precise embodiment shown and described, but that other embodiments are comprehended within the spirit and scope of the claims.

Having described the invention, whatv I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is the follow mg:

1. A machine of the class described having, in combinatiomheating means, and a shoe ironing member posltloned in close proximity to said means so as to receive heat therefrom, said ironing member being adjustably mounted to present portions thereof in variably spaced relation to the heating means to control the degree of heat of said member.

2. A machine of the class described having, in combination, heating means, and a shoe ironing member positioned closely adjacent to said means so as to receive heat therefrom and curved to present difierent portions thereof in substantially the same relation to the source of heat, said member and means being relatively adjustable to vary the distance between portions, of the member and the heating means soas to control the degree of heat. of said member;

3. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a heating member formed with a curved outer surface, and an ironing tool positioned closely adjacent to said member so as to receive heat therefrom and having a surface curved to conforming a substantially cylindrical outer surface,

and. an ironing tool formed as a segment of a cylinder and arranged to partially embrace said member, said tool being supported near one edge and adjustable with reference to its support to present portions thereof in variably spaced relation to the heating member.

6. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a heating member formed with a substantially cylindrical outer surface, a substantially semi-cylindrical ironing tool partially embracing said member, means for supporting the toolnear one edge thereof, and means for adjusting the tool about said supporting means to present portions thereof in variably spaced relation to said member.

7. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a heating member formed with a substantially cylindrical outer surface, a substantially semi-cylindrical ironing tool partially embracing said member, means for supporting the tool near one edge thereof, and means for swinging the tool about said supporting means to bring portions thereof into or out of contact with said member.

8. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a heating member having a substantially cylindrical outer surface, a substantially semi-cylindrical ironing tool partially embracing said member, means providing a pivotal support for the tool near one edge thereof, a lug projecting at the other edge of the tool, and a screw threaded in a fixed portion of the machine and connected with said lug for adjusting the tool about its supporting means.

9. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a heating member having a substantially cylindrical outer surface, a casing curved about said member and spaced therefrom, an ironing tool formed as a segment of a cylinder and partially em bracing said member, means projecting from said casing and. arranged to support the tool near one edge thereof, a pin projecting from another portion of the casing toward the heating member, a screw threaded in said pin, and connections from the screw to the ironing tool whereby the tool may be adjusted about its supporting means with ref erence to the heating member.

10. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a cylindrical shell, a

to the shell so as to receive heat therefrom, said tool being adjustable to present portions thereof in variably spaced relation to the shell.

11. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a heating member, and an ironing tool supported in position to contact with said member so as to be heated thereby, said member and tool being relatively adjustable to vary the extent of con-- tact therebetween.

12. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a power driven shaft, bearings therefor, a stationary element to be heated, means intermediate the shaft and said element for heating the element, and an ironing tool mounted for adjustment into different degrees of proximity to said element.

18. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a power driven shaft, a stationary element to be heated, means be tween the shaft and said element for heating the element, an ironing tool, and means for supporting the tool in close proximity to said element, said supporting means being constructed and arranged to retain the tool normally in operative position while permitname to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

f ORRELL ASHTON. Witnesses: CHESTER E. ROGERS,

LILLIAN B. DUPEE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C. 

